Dara won both the public vote (312 points from viewers' phone votes) and the jury vote (204 points from music experts in each country). She is the first artist since Portugal's Salvador Sobral in 2017 to lead in both rankings.
The victory is historic for Bulgaria. The country first competed at Eurovision in 2005, and its best finish before now was second place in 2017. Bulgarian National Television will host the 71st contest in Sofia in May 2027.
Bulgaria notched its first-ever Eurovision Song Contest victory on the evening of May 16, when 24-year-old Darina Nikolaeva Yotova — performing as Dara — claimed the trophy at the Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna with the dance-pop track 'Bangaranga.' She finished with a commanding 516 points, ahead of the runner-up by a comfortable margin, and triggered a long ovation on the arena floor.
Dara's victory is historic on two counts. First, Bulgaria had been participating in the contest since 2005 with only modest success; before this year, the country's best result was Kristian Kostov's runner-up finish in 2017. Second, Dara is the first contestant since Portugal's Salvador Sobral in 2017 to top both the public televote (312 points) and the international jury vote (204 points) — a sweep that Eurovision insiders consider the gold standard of a clean win.
'Bangaranga' is a percussion-heavy production written by a Bulgarian–Greek–Norwegian songwriting team that includes Anne Judith Wik and Dimitris Kontopoulos. Its visual identity draws directly on the Bulgarian Kukeri tradition: dancers in towering bell-and-fur costumes representing the masked figures who, in folklore, roam villages each January to drive out malevolent spirits and bless the coming year.
Under European Broadcasting Union rules, the broadcaster of the winning country normally hosts the following year's contest. Bulgarian National Television has already confirmed it will accept the duty, with Sofia as the most likely host city. Officials there said they would announce the venue, dates and logistical plan after consultations with the EBU and the Bulgarian government.
Bulgaria captured its first Eurovision Song Contest title on the evening of May 16, when 24-year-old Darina Nikolaeva Yotova — performing under her stage name Dara — finished atop the 70th edition's leaderboard at the Wiener Stadthalle with 516 points for the dance-pop entry 'Bangaranga.' The result, announced after the final televoting reveal, was greeted with an extended floor ovation and immediate celebrations among the Bulgarian delegation in the green room.
Two structural features of the win underscore its scale. First, Bulgaria had been competing at the contest only since 2005 and had hovered around mid-table for most of that span; the country's previous high-water mark was Kristian Kostov's runner-up finish in 2017. Second, Dara is the first contestant since Portugal's Salvador Sobral, also in 2017, to lead simultaneously in both the international jury aggregate (204 points) and the pan-European televote (312 points) — a double sweep traditionally read by Eurovision analysts as a signature of consensus rather than tactical or diaspora-driven voting.
'Bangaranga' itself is a meticulously engineered production helmed by a Bulgarian-Norwegian-Greek songwriting team led by Anne Judith Wik, Cristian Tarcea, Darina Nikolaeva Yotova herself, and the prolific Eurovision veteran Dimitris Kontopoulos. The arrangement layers Balkan modal vocal lines over a percussion-forward EDM substrate, with the staging tableau quoting directly from the Kukeri folk masquerade — a January ritual in which men in towering bell-and-fur costumes parade through Bulgarian villages to ward off malevolent spirits and bless the agricultural year.
Under European Broadcasting Union convention, the winning broadcaster ordinarily hosts the following edition. Bulgarian National Television has signaled its acceptance of the duty, with Sofia widely expected to be selected as the 2027 host city pending consultation with the EBU reference group and the national cabinet. Government officials in Sofia, sensing both the soft-power dividend and the logistical scale of staging an event of Eurovision's magnitude, are reportedly already coordinating with the EBU on venue, timeline and security planning.
Bulgaria claimed its first-ever Eurovision Song Contest victory on May 16, when 24-year-old singer Darina Yotova — performing as Dara — won the 70th edition of the contest at the Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna with the song 'Bangaranga.' She finished with 516 points and became the first artist since Salvador Sobral in 2017 to top both the jury and public votes, meaning next year's contest will be hosted in Sofia.
Eurovision is a big music contest in Europe. Many countries send a singer to it every year. The contest is on television.
This year, the contest was in Vienna, the capital of Austria. Twenty-five countries sang in the final on May 16.
The winner was Bulgaria. The singer's name is Dara. She is 24 years old. Her song is called 'Bangaranga.'
It is the first time Bulgaria has ever won Eurovision. Next year, the contest will be in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria.
1Where was Eurovision 2026 held?
2Which country won?
3What is the song called?
4What is the singer's name?
5Where will the contest be next year?
6Eurovision is a music contest.
7Vienna is the capital of Italy.
8Bulgaria won for the first time.
9Dara is 50 years old.
10Sofia is in Bulgaria.
11The contest is called ___.
12The winner's song is called '___.'
13The 2027 contest will be in ___.